A New Era
by Quartermaster
Summary: War has left it's mark on the shinobi world, in a period where clans rein supreme. The Senju and the Uchiha have made a name for themselves, as the greatest forces in the Land of Fire. Through this story, are detailed events of the war and its prelude through the eyes of Tobirama Senju, a man who would come to be the Second Hokage. Read as war changes the man Tobirama was and is...
1. Chapter 1

_**I do not own Naruto, and all credit for characters goes to the author Masashi Kishimoto. Please support the official release.**_

_**A/N: I've taken the Naruto world and gave it a nice spin, inspired by the A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin. Drop a review if you like it, or if you hate it :)**_

_A call to arms by my brother, and the clans of this country came flocking like sheep to the slaughter. He calls for war, a war for land and a war for control. Hashirama has broken every belief that our ancestors prided themselves on, for what he calls 'the greater good'. He finds value in useless things, and claims to be the Leader we need… the Leader this country needs… But who are we to take the reins?_

_Hashirama is moving too fast for his own good, and for all his strengths, understanding when to back down is not one of them. "We are entering a new age," he tells me constantly. What was so wrong with the age we were in? We are not common men, we are not settlers, or farmers, or shepherds… we are shinobi. I am beside myself, truly. These people are making Hashirama out to be some God; some even call him the Sage Reborn. How merrily he pulls the strings of his puppets amuses me… to the point where I wonder if I would do the same if I had been born first. _

- Tobirama Senju

"We are entering a new age, brother," Hashirama slid on his breastplate and secured his shoulder guards. Candles burned in every corner of the room, bathing Hashirama in an orange light that made his tan skin look like glistening copper. He stood a head taller than Tobirama, and looked thick as an ox in his armor. "By dawn, we may see an end to this war. To _every _war, for some time at least."

Tobirama shifted uncomfortably, his arms crossed in front of his chest, and his eyes drawn to the candle's flames. The wisps of fire licked at the air, leaving the scent of autumn to linger in the tent. "You're overconfident."

Hashirama secured the bronze colored steel around his waist and turned to his brother, meeting him with those big black eyes. Hashirama was the type of man whose emotions were very easily readable. His eyes were like a book into his mind, and Tobirama could see plainly that frustration was bubbling beneath his brother's skin. For the last few months, Tobirama had been speaking out against Hashirama's claims to end this war, and overtime even Hashirama was growing tired of his pessimism. "And why shouldn't I be? Do you see the power we have backing us? And that doesn't even include our own people…" Hashirama pressed a hand against the table; a map was unrolled across its surface and covered in lines and x's. "The Nara, the Aburame, the Yamanaka… they all have joined our cause, brother."

"And the Uchiha have the Mountain clans. There lies two forces that have been nothing but trouble in the past. To this day, we have found no common ground with these Mountain dwelling cretins. Save the Sarutobi…" Tobirama had forgotten about them. The Sarutobi made their claim as supporters and friends to the Senju before any other. They were of the Mountain clans, and possibly the strongest of them. Tobirama doubted them at first, but even he had grown to accept the Sarutobi as brethren. "How many men we have means nothing when we face such dangerous warriors."

Hashirama dug into the map, crumbling the paper in his hand. "You are my brother, Tobirama. Why do you not support me, why do you not support your own people?" Tobirama could read his brothers eyes again, he saw denial and confusion.

Tobirama unfolded himself and took a step towards his brother, placing a hand on Hashirama's shoulder guard. "What if we lose, Hashirama?" All of his fears and all of his complaints led to this. What if the Senju and all of their allies were not strong enough to defeat the Uchiha and their allies? The Senju were diverse and cunning, but the Uchiha boasted something that very few Senju had; raw, uncontrollable, and demonic powers. No matter how many Uchiha Tobirama had slain throughout his life, he still feared them. When Tobirama looked into his brother's eyes, he saw emotion, and he saw life. When you look into the eyes of an Uchiha, all you see is darkness.

"I've asked myself that question a hundred times over," Hashirama said.

"And?"

"We can't lose…" Hashirama pulled away from his brother's grip and made for the flap of their tent. When he peeled back the leather doorway, a gust of wind swept into the tent and swatted around the candle's flames. Tobirama eyed the small bundles of fire, so weak against the breath of wind from outside, yet they refused to burn out. The Uchiha were like the flame; no matter how hard you strike them down, they refuse to burn out. They're demons in Human skin, and no amount of unity could stop them. But Hashirama had left before Tobirama could say anymore, leaving the shinobi alone in the glow of the flames.

Tobirama eased himself against the table, soaking up these few moments of silence in fear that another distraction would come floating through that door just like that wind. Hundreds upon thousands of thoughts raced through Tobirama's mind, from the past to the future. He recalled every detail of his brother's campaign, as any right hand to a General should. Tobirama was more than the brother to a leader; in fact, he was as powerful in the eyes of the people as Hashirama was. He was simply a realistic man. He was no philosopher, nor was he a motivator. He was a competent shinobi, and that is all a right hand should ever be.

"You two always patch things up so quickly."

Tobirama shifted his gaze to the door, where he was met with another gust of wind. Again, the flames did not go out. Tobirama smiled, "You shouldn't spy on people, cousin. It's rude, especially for a young lady like you."

A woman, only a few years younger than Tobirama, dressed in armor similar to Hashirama's own stood with her arms crossed. She had a very controlled look about her, which hid well behind her long dark hair. A dark purple shade of lipstick covered her lips, and her eyes matched Hashirama's, without that hint of emotion. "I just happened to be standing outside the tent, waiting for you two to finish talking. I have to speak with you."

Tobirama offered his cousin a chair, "Is something wrong, Tōka?"

The thin faced kunoichi sat beside Tobirama and pulled a scroll from her pouch, opening it across the table on top of the map. "Hashirama is leading this war, and as his closest allies, it is up to us to make sure he keeps focused on leading it." The scroll was detailed from right to left in seals and scribbles. Tobirama could make out what looked like an incantation across the border, and some other intricate seals he did not recognize.

Tobirama was certain of one thing, "This is the Uzumaki's work," Tobirama ran his hand across the scroll's face, and could feel each bump and ridge across its surface. He made out a few symbols upon closer inspection; _blood_, _honor_, and _soul_. Tobirama shook his head from left to right, pulling his hand away from the scroll. "They have told us once that they wish to be excluded from this war, Tōka."

"I'm certain we can get them on our side," Tōka ran her fingers along the scroll, just as Tobirama had. The Uzumaki's craftsmanship was nothing less than a work of art, a testament to where their strength lied. Masters in the art of sealing, an age sect of techniques referred to as fūinjutsu. Clans from around the world tried to gain the support of the Uzumaki, but they remained adamant in staying out of the world's wars. "There is a woman; they call her the Princess of the Whirlpools…"

Tobirama smiled; there was something about Tōka that Tobirama felt he always lacked. She was crafty, and at the same time, intuitive. It was why Hashirama found good counsel in her, as did Tobirama. "You want to bind our clans through marriage, correct? This is quite the investment Tōka, and at the same time, it has its legs. The Uzumaki are wont to keeping out of the affairs, but marriage to Hashirama is not something they are likely to decline." He pressed his hand to his chin and examined the scroll, still impressed at Tōka's initiative. He was glad that he had somebody like Tōka at his side, when Hashirama was so thick.

"Precisely," Tōka snatched the scroll and rolled it back up, placing it back into her pouch. "I wanted to run this idea by you first, before proposing it to Lord Hashirama. As his counsel, we must remain ahead of him, even if it's by a few steps."

Tōka meant well, but Tobirama knew that no matter how hard they tried, Hashirama would remain leagues ahead of either of them. He knew what he was going to do, and how he was going to do it before he even spoke about it with Tobirama or Tōka. Even the other Clan leaders who swore their allegiance were as far in the dark with Hashirama's plans as every other man. Hashirama meant well, but it wouldn't do any good to his cause to anger his closest friends and comrades. "It's getting stuffy in this tent." Tobirama stepped away from the table and made his way through the door of the tent, tossing aside the leather flap and into the crisp morning air. He was practically naked, without his armor, but he was safe from harm here of all places. He glanced back into the tent, taking note of the candles still burning in their stands. He felt a chill, staring into those flames for even a brief moment.

"Shall I send an envoy to the Land of Whirlpools?" Tōka said as she stepped from the tent behind Tobirama.

Tobirama shook his head, "First we will bring this news to Hashirama. While this move may be for the success of this war, I do not intend on making decisions without my brother's approval. And if he does agree with your proposal, I want it to be you who brings word to the Land of Whirlpools, Tōka."

"We are the advisers to Hashirama, his counsel and the two people he relies on, yet you want to send me east to broker a deal? You take me for a fool, cousin." Tōka had worked hard, as hard as Tobirama and Hashirama, just to earn the respect of her peers. As the son of the Clan leader, the two brothers were always looked upon favorably, while Tōka was seen as the 'noble girl' of her father. She proved she was much more than that, in her actions and her words.

Tobirama raised a hand as a plea for Tōka to calm. She believed that he was underestimating her, while she had done the same in underestimating his reasoning. "The Uzumaki will take it as an insult if a lesser clansman should come trotting into their lands offering my brother's hand in marriage; they would surely decline our offer. We must not send a nameless face Tōka, and I cannot go for reasons _you_ know. That is why you must go, because I trust you,"

"And it wouldn't hurt for a female, such as yourself, to bring news to this Princess of the Whirlpools should they agree to this marriage. Who knows, cousin… you may even make a friend."

Tōka's mouth twisted into a scowl, "Go talk to Lord Hashirama, send a messenger when you have his approval of this proposition." Tōka turned to leave, but was stopped by one last inquiry by Tobirama.

"How do you know he'll approve of being married off?"

She gave Tobirama a look, and saw that same distinction that Hashirama's eyes had; confidence. "Because it's in his nature to sacrifice for the greater good," she said the same word Hashirama used, the 'greater good'. "And if I know Lord Hashirama, then he would agree without a second thought. It's who he is, you should know that."

_Yes, I should_, he thought although he said "Expect word from me, or a messenger within the hour. Find some good men among these allies of ours; show the Uzumaki how diverse our ranks are." And with that, Tōka was off, gone before Tobirama's very eyes. He often wondered if the Tōka he spoke with was actually her, or some complicated illusion she devised to speak with him. Masters of illusion are known to be rather boastful of their power, and Tōka was as masterful as they came.

Tobirama peered down the hillside, into the expanse of shinobi and kunoichi who allied under the Senju for the coming war. He eyed a large tent, larger than his and Hashirama's quarters that stood tall behind him. The tent carried symbols from each clan who had allied with Hashirama, and had been sewn together from the richest silks and the finest linens. At the entrance, stood two tall wooden totem poles, decorated with various animal heads from a deer to a monkey to a snake. Guards surrounded the tent on all sides, creating distance between the common folk and the Clan Leaders who gathered inside. Tobirama sighed, making his way down the cliff to convince Hashirama into marrying this _princess_. The right-hand of the Lord Commander of this army had devolved into a wingman, but Tobirama believed that only he would find the irony in that…


	2. Chapter 2

_Hashirama and I are two completely different people. From the way we think to the way we look, we might as well be strangers from two separate parts of the world. I have no doubt that we are of the same blood, but only partly. Father always spoke somberly to Hashirama when he talked about mother, as if she was dead, when she was most obviously alive. But when he talked to me about here, it was as he was in a completely different atmosphere. When I was seventeen, I asked Hashirama if he thought we had different mothers... considering our very different appearances. He didn't speak to me for a week, after that. _

_There was a time where that thought lingered in my mind, and that left a very nasty gap between the two of us for a while. But as I have grown, I've come to accept something. No matter where we come from, whether our mothers are different or even our fathers, we are still brothers. Hashirama and Tobirama Senju... It goes together so nicely. How spirited of father to name us the way he did..._

_- _Tobirama Senju

"What do you mean the Uchiha are retreating back?" Hashirama's voice carried far across the encampment. He was prepared for battle, and he was prepared to win, yet the Uchiha had proven to get the best of Hashirama even without actually meeting in battle. Tobirama could only stand back, relieved that his brother would not rush into battle so quickly. "Is there an opening in that mountain pass? Can we cut them off and catch them in a _two-front_ assault?"

A thick faced shinobi stepped forward, his eyes narrowand his chin chiseled into a neat box. "They're being lead by a Mountain clansmen, we would lose in a heartbeat, even with our men on both sides. It would be a bloody loss," the shinobi spat. He wore the blazon of the Senju, Tobirama recognized him as a distant cousin. Perhaps a fourth? "If they do not return by dawn, perhaps we should reign in our troops as well, Lord Hashirama. Our men are out in the open, waiting for an enemy who will never come. Even my son is out there, my _only _son."

Hashirama's mouth pressed into a thin line, hands pressed against the large map unfolded between him and his 'counsel'. Tobirama kept at distance, yet he was as much of a member of this counsel as the rest of these pompous Lords. He eyed the diverse group around him, from Lord Shikamu Nara and his twelve year old son clinging to his side to elderly Lord Seimei Hyūga. Akimichi, Yamanaka, Aburame, and even the Sarutobi were in attendance. Most were faces he did not recognize or know the name of. The Sarutobi was the only one out of the group of Lords to speak up against the words of Tobirama's fourth cousin, or possibly his fifth. "The blood of the Mountain clans flows through the veins of my people and I as much as the fools who follow those devil-eyed monsters. Give me two-hundred men, and the Sarutobi can take the Uchiha at dawn."

Tobirama saw that look in Hashirama's eyes; he was actually considering it.

"You all have accepted this plan of attack without even considering another possibility. What if we attack from above and below? We have shinobi proficient in Earth Release _and_ Wind Release. We can do this quickly and as cleanly as we want it, if clean is the style we're going for that is," Lord Akimichi said with a hard cough. His weight had damaged his health so much, that he had been riddled with a cough that could wake the dead. Tobirama felt like wherever he went, Lord Akimichi's coughing wasn't too far behind, even out on missions. The man's cough could shake up the Uchiha more then his plan, that much was for sure.

Lord Shikamu shook his head. "It wouldn't work, they're prepared for a standard ninjutsu assault. We should pull out now and reassemble the troops. Then we can secure our borders and plan for the much larger war to come," a sensible answer, that much Tobirama could say. But Hashirama wouldn't agree to it, he was too hot blooded even behind that stoic face of his.

Hashirama looked to his brother, eyes as solid as he made himself out to appear. "And what says my brother? You've been quiet Tobirama, and you are apart of this counsel, if you have forgotten." Hashirama often demanded one-hundred and ten percent from his comrades, and that included Tobirama, who only desired to put in about forty-five. The other sixty-five was lost to every time Hashirama ignored Tobirama's advise and proceeded with some wild plan of his or another Lords.

"Well," Tobirama felt uncomfortable with everyone's eyes on him. "You all speak as though the Uchiha are running away from us, but have you considered that they are trying to bait us? A two-front war is not a secretive tactic developed by the old Lords of the Senju, brother. And you, Lord Akimichi propose a very simplistic assault, one that would fall apart before the Uchiha even saw us coming. We could easily call back in the troops, give us another day or maybe even more to prepare and plan," Tobirama walked over to the large map and examined it with a cautious eye. "And considering that this mountain pass forks here, we would probably be caught in a two-front war by the Uchiha in the end."

Lord Shikamu leaned in, "There is no fork on this map, Lord Tobirama. Only a narrow pathway through the mountains."

"I directed some troops out there a month ago, before the Uchiha stormed the mountains. We found a chink in the chain, if you will. A chink that the Uchiha have probably broadened while they've been up there," Tobirama's eyes rolled across the paper, from mountain to hill to river. The Land of Fire was vast, and territory meant a lot in battle. Should the Senju and the other clans push themselves into a position where the Uchiha can sneak around them or attack them from higher up, they would lose. "Here."

Hashirama stood beside his brother now, ears wide open. As were the other Lords, Tobirama was sure.

"There is a pathway into the Land of Rivers, a trade route that the Uchiha have not taken control of. But they will, I'm sure of it. Hashirama, pull the troops back and dispatch half of them towards this route. The Uchiha are retreating, and as our dear _fifth _cousin has said, it would be a bloody loss to storm those mountains," Tobirama winced as he said fifth, shifting his eyes to the iron jawed Senju.

"Third Cousin, my Lord."

Tobirama smiled at that, his guess was only a bit far off. "Just so. Should the Uchiha go for this route, then we can surprise them and secure it for ourselves."

Hashirama examined the spots where Tobirama had pointed out. "Cousin Ryū," Hashirama raised his eyes. "Send word to the Commander on the front lines, inform him of the Uchiha's retreat as well as ours. Have him dispatch a squadron of shinobi to the Yūei Bridge who will await future orders."

Ryū nodded and took his leave, leaving Hashirama and Tobirama with the other Lords. "Could have sworn he was a fifth cousin, or a sixth," Tobirama quipped, but nobody took notice. Even though the orders had been made, something still seemed to be troubling Hashirama, Tobirama could see it in his eyes. It looked like doubt. "Could I have a moment with my brother, my Lords?" The Lords all looked to Tobirama, with uneasy eyes, and then to Hashirama. When they saw him nod to the door, they left like a gust of wind.

Hashirama sighed and collapsed in a wooden chair, his fingers laced in front of his mouth. "What is it, Tobirama?"

"Tōka and I were discussing a possible marriage arrangement for you, brother. Considering father is not alive to broker a marriage with another Lord, it is up to us." Tobirama trotted over to a table littered with weapons captured from Uchiha. Tobirama fingered an oddly designed kunai in his hand, his back to Hashirama.

"And who do you have in mind?"

"They call her the Princess of the Whirlpools, Uzumaki Mito."

Hashirama scoffed, which was unlike him. "You think the Uzumaki would marry their princess to me? We're at war, brother. They don't want anything to do with us." Hashirama kept up with Tobirama in terms of not keeping eye contact, as if both men didn't want to be having this conversation.

"If we offer them a man as powerful as you, then they cannot decline. A wedding between you and Mito will assure us the Uzumaki as allies, brother. Perhaps they've kept out of this war for more reasons then just remaining neutral, perhaps they wanted to find a way into the winner's circle through this princess of theirs."

"Who thought of this?" Hashirama eased back in his chair, probably imagining what the life of a married man entailed. Tobirama thought he could see a bit of serenity in Hashirama's eyes, but he just wasn't sure.

Tobirama smirked. "Tōka, surprisingly enough."

"I assume you have here on stand by, should I agree to this?"

Tobirama nodded.

There was silence after that, as Hashirama contemplated the idea of marriage in his mind. There were only two outcomes to this offer; either the Uzumaki would say yes, and Hashirama would be both married and better equipped against the Uchiha or the Uzumaki would say no and they would be in the exact same position they are now. The worst wasn't even that bad. "Get a message to Tōka that I expect a message once she has arrived. And a description of my possible bride-to-be, if she can."

"Yes, my Lord," Tobirama was smiling now, as he stood up and made his way towards the door. "Shall I send the other Lords back in?"

"No..." Hashirama turned away and looked to the burning hearth. "I need some time too myself."

And with that, Tobirama was off again.


End file.
